Gosh, I love traveling to new places. New sites, new food and new bead shops.

I had a little trouble finding bead shops on my recent trip to Providence, RI but in the end I found the addresses of three shops. The first one was on a nightmarish street in downtown Providence and I drove by the address twice and was unable to find it. It’s probably a good thing as I’m not sure much would have enticed me to try to find parking in that mess. They would have to be GIVING away beads.

The second shop was this one. Beads and More is actually in Cranston, RI (727 Pontiac Ave Cranston, RI 02910) and was easy to find with plenty of parking. The owner was fabulously fun to talk with and there was a HUGE selection.

Can you tell I was thinking about fall jewelry while I was in this shop?  There were just so many beads that I kind of had to pick a theme and then go from there. I would probably STILL be there if I hadn’t narrowed things down a bit.

I also picked up this piece. I’m seeing some epoxy clay and crystals or maybe even polymer clay in this. It was just too unique to pass up.

The second shop I found was The Bead and Wire Shop (1200 Fall River Ave Seekonk, MA 02771) which actually ended up not being far from our hotel.

My shopping experience was much more pleasant in the first shop as the owner of this one didn’t even speak to me until I checked out.

To me, that is kind of a bummer as part of the fun of bead shopping (especially in another city) is chatting with folks who also love beads and know the area.

This shop was loaded with fun little metal charms and I picked up quite a few.

This is also the only place in real life that I’ve been able to get my hands on Crystal Clay bezels of various shapes and sizes. I don’t mind buying my jewelry supplies online but when I’m trying out a new company or new line I really like to see and feel the quality of the pieces in a line. Know what I mean?

This trip prompted me to open a YELP account so I can write reviews for places I visit. The food we had while on this trip was amazing and I owe it all to Yelp and fellow reviewers. If you’d like to follow my reviews you can find my profile here.

Do you hunt for  new shops when you travel? What kinds of shops and how do you find them?